The Lost Jedi
by engineereeyore
Summary: This story follow a Jedi called Raff who was at the Jedi Academy when Kylo Ran lead the uprising against Luke Skywalker. Thought to be dead, Raff was left behind and discovered later by a rescue party. His injuries left him with no memories, until the destruction of Star Killer base. But by then, Raff was married with five kids. Could he return as the Jedi he once was?


"Master, what are we doing on Felucia?", Rey asked, as she looked out their spacecraft onto the colorful and transfixing landscape.

"I wish I knew, padawan", replied Luke as he stepped past her. Looking back, he said with a smile, "the Force does not always answer why, but I have a feeling we will find out soon."

Together they left their ship behind and proceeded to a small farming village that lay before them. The village was populated with no more than a few hundred citizen, most of which seemed to be actively engaged in their daily farming routines. A number of small children ran through the streets, playing and chasing one another, and stopping only momentarily to stare and gasp at the strangers who walked through their streets. One of the children, who seemed to be particularly inquisitive, walked up to Luke and tugged on his garbs.

"Are you looking for my father?", she asked.

"Who is your father?", Luke responded. Although Luke had expected to see many Felucian children in the village, this child was clearly a Twi'lek. And while still awaiting an answer from this young girl, a much older child, Mirianlan by the look of him, arrived and placed his arm around the little girl.

The young girl, looking up from the boy, responded, "I think you _are_ looking for him. My name is Noraleek and this is my brother Freydren. Come with me," she said, grabbing Luke's hand.

Rey looked puzzlingly at Luke, but followed his lead as the children lead them through the streets of the city. The other children had also surrounded them and began whispering and giggling at the very bizarre strangers. As they passed home after home, several of the children were snatched up by parents too scared to engage with the strangers walking their streets. It became clear to Rey as she continued to follow the children that this village was not accustom to many visitors. The pure, unfiltered childhood curiosity was likely all that was keeping many of these children from running into their homes of their own accord.

"Here we are!", Noraleek stated.

"Don't worry; I'll go get Dad", Freyden said as he disappeared into their home. Luke looked over the surrounding with skeptic curiosity, trying to get any indication from the Force as to whether or not this was indeed their target destination. Rey seemed to be fixed in a similar state as she scanned the neighboring area for signs of activity and life. As the time passed, Rey's mind drifted as she began to grow impatient with their current situation. No sooner had this happened than she felt an urgent surge of the Force to protect herself. "Master, I ..."

Luke had clearly received the same warning, as his lightsaber flew from his waist and ignited in his outstretched hand. His arm instinctively raised to parry the coming attack as the orange glow of the assaulting lightsaber flashed in his eyes. Rey stepped back, taking a defensive stance and drawing her own lightsaber. As she prepared to enter the fray, she felt the distinct impression, "Peace, young one. I mean you no harm."

Clearly caught off guard, and unable to see his attacker, Luke pushed away the attacker's blade and swung around to look upon his assailant. Yet upon seeing the attacker, Luke stumbled to the ground. His hand raised to his head as overpowering flashbacks entered his mind. Looking up, all he could say was, "But…., how? You…, you're dead?!"

"Hello Master," the stranger replied. "It's good to see you again!"

* * *

"I don't understand. Who are you again?", Rey asked.

"My name is Raffindi Unduli, but you may call me Raff. I was a padawan of your master here many years ago at his academy on Yavin 4. At least I was until the uprising by Kylo Ren."

"But you died there," Luke responded. "I saw you fall!"

Raff chuckled slightly under his breath. "Yes, I don't fault you for assuming I had fallen. I was fairly certain I was defeated as well." As he spoke these world, Raff slowly removed the covering over his head, revealing an extensive amount of scarring on the right side of his skull. Luke and Rey both gasped slightly as they saw a crushing indentation and traced several scars running the side of Raff's head.

"When the fighting began," Raff continued, looking at Rey, "I picked up a large number of Kylo's forces. I may not have been the best Jedi student in all areas, but I was the best fighter your Master had. Kylo and Snoke knew this and knew they did not stand much of chance if they couldn't eliminate me from the fight. I was able to take out four of their fighters and had Snoke in trouble when Kylo force pushed a rock into my skull."

Raff walked around the table in the room where he sat down with Luke and Rey. Clearly this was an unpleasant memory for Raff, not only because of the physical injury, but also the damage to his pride as a fighter. He sat gingerly on the chair opposite to Luke and Rey, but smiled as he saw Noraleek enter the room. Seeing his smile, she ran to his side, reached up her arms, and just said, "Up!". Raff lifted her up and set her on his lap.

"Raff is a Mirianlan, and not just any Mirianlan", Luke stated. "He is the nephew of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, who fought with my father during the clone wars. He was one of my first, and best, students. He has a very strong connection to the world around him and, as he will always remind you, he was very talented with a lightsaber."

Rey couldn't stop shaking her head as she said, "But you're still alive, and you have children! How did this happen?"

Chuckling again, Raff said, "Well, that's where it got interesting. Clearly believing me dead, Snoke and Kylo continued on to face Master Luke. Once the battle was concluded, I was left behind by all. Several hours after the battle, a ship traveling along the Perlemian Trade Route picked up our distress call and came to investigate. An extremely beautiful Twi'lek by the name of Salyndra found me. Fortunately, she recognized I _WASN'T_ dead," Raff jovially chided while smirking at Luke.

"You had a rock in your head!", Luke defended.

"Yeah, sure. You're still not as good as making excuses as Han!", Raff responded, clearly enjoying the guilty reaction.

"If I would have realize how much trouble he was going to be, I may have just left him there, too!" Turning around, Rey saw a very plain, but undeniable beautiful Twi'lek enter the room. "My name is Salyndra. We welcome you to our home."

"It is very kind of you to have us, Salyndra. You have a lovely family!", Rey said.

Salyndra looked fondly upon Rey as she crossed the room, wrapper her arm around Raff, and gave Noraleek a quick hug. "Thank you, young Jedi master. The Force has been with us."

This comment only compounded Rey's confusion. Completely taken aback by this situation, she asked, "But Raff, you were a Jedi Knight! How do you have a family? Where have you been?"

"She is an inquisitive one, isn't she?", Raff asked looking at Luke, who smiled beside himself. "After Salyndra found me, it was several weeks before I awoke. And when I did, I had no memories of what had happened. I didn't even know who I was. Salyndra visited me quite often during my recovery, obviously overcome by my prowess and charm!"

More than one snort was released at that line, as Salyndra and Luke where joined in the laugh by a few more of Raff and Salyndra's children. "We have five," Raff stated as three more came into the room, including Freyden. "I'm sure our oldest, Slaytrek, will be joining us shortly, but this is Hendrik and Sarryya, and I believe you already know Freyden. Not too bad for a Jedi, eh?"

Luke laughed out loud. "I dare say you have more than any Jedi I have known, but I would like to hear the rest of your story."

"Yes, yes," Raff continued. "A life with children is full of interruptions, so my apologies. Salyndra continued to help nourish me for several weeks. Once I regained enough strength to care for myself, I began asking questions in hopes of understanding what had happened. She wasn't able to provide many answers on who I was, but told me about the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and the battle that had clearly taken place."

"It appeared that with Raff out of the battle," Salyndra interjected, "the remaining student's did not stand much of a chance, as I found many of their bodies surrounding him. He was dressed in Jedi garb and his lightsaber was at his side, so I assumed he must have been a Jedi Knight or Padawan. Either way, he was clearly a brave and valiant man."

Salyndra ran her hand across Raff's head, following a series of scars with her fingers. "He may not have been the most handsome Mirianlan in the galaxy, especially with a rock in his skull, but honor and sacrifice are incredibly attractive traits." Salyndra smiled down at her husband.

"If only I had been a bit stronger…," Raff spoke quietly. Recognizing his anguish, each of Raff's children hugged him a little tighter. Encouraged by their compassion, he continued, "So that was all I knew. I was likely a Jedi, but I had no memory of my training. I had no control over the force and there were no other survivors. I didn't know what to do or where to go. So I went in the direction of the one thing I did know: I really liked this Salyndra girl! She lived here on Felucia and worked as a farmer. She was sold as a slave to a farmer here early in her life, but after the unexpected early death of her owner, she was freed."

"It was not a great life," Salyndra interjected, "but I was free. I had no family, no place to go, so I stayed here among the people I did know, as I was still very young at the time. As I grew, I began to join a small group of citizen that worked the trade routes to exchange goods. We were out trading goods when we received the distress call from Yavin 4, and simply returned here when we could find no other survivors and discovered Raff had no memories of who he was. I've been stuck with him ever since", Salyndra said, smiling down at Raff.

"That she has," he replied. "This was the only home either of us knew, so we were joined and started a family. Life continued on until recently with no change, and still no new insight into my history. That is, until the destruction of Star Killer Base. Somehow, when that happened, everything changed."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"Well, I began remembering things," Raff answered. "I began feeling the Force again, being able to use and control it. It almost felt second nature, like it had been there all along. I remembered what had happened, but I still didn't know what to do or if anyone else was even still alive. I traded placed with Salyndra and joined in the last trading group on their travels in hopes of obtaining some information. That where I first heard stories of you, Luke, and of you still being alive. Although no one had any details of where you could be found, I knew I needed to contact you."

"I guess that explains why the Force led us here, Master" Rey commented.

Luke turned to her and nodded. "It does, indeed. But what to do now?"

"Well, it's time to fight, isn't it?" Raff asked. "Kylo is still out there, as well as Snoke. And we have a Jedi Academy to rebuild!"

"Raff, you're joined. You have children. You're no longer a Jedi!" Luke responded. "You can't come with us!"

Salyndra and Raff starred at each other, and at the children. "Luke, I'm still trained in the Jedi arts. The Force is still with me!"

"Raff, it's just not possible. The Jedi code forbids emotional attachments."

"So the Force forbids it, or the Jedi who would claim to control the Force forbid it?" Salyndra snapped back. Rey looked shocked by the sternness in Salyndra's tone as she responded. She hasn't quit expected such an emotional response from her, as she seemed to be very calm and poised up till now. And how could Salyndra be so upset? Didn't she understand what this would mean to their family?

"The Jedi code was established to help protect Jedi from being corrupted by the Dark side of the Force," Luke retorted. "Emotional connections have been shown to make Jedi susceptible to its influence. It is what corrupted my Father and drove him to the Dark Side."

"No Luke, it is what brought him back! When his memory returned, Raff told me of your history and I know about your family. Pride, arrogance, and the need for power drove your father to the Dark Side, not his love for your mother. _Love_ is what brought him back. _Love_ for you gave him the strength to overcome the influence of the Dark Side and destroy the Emperor."

"The Force is in our home," Salyndra continued. "The midichlorians that give you your powers live within us all. The fact that you have a higher count than me doesn't entitle you to universal access to its will and powers. I may not be a Jedi, but I know the Force and I respect it. I can hear it whisper to me at times and when it does, I obey. The fact that I am a wife or a mother, or that I am not a Jedi Knight, does not make that bond disappear!"

"Salyndra," Luke responded, "I do not doubt your experiences. And there is a measure of truth to what you claim. But such an emotion attachment breeds fear. Fear of loss. Fear of death. And that fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate. This is the path to the Dark Side, and given previous events, I cannot take such a risk."

Raff had been quietly listening to the exchange between Salyndra and Luke. Following Luke's response, he could feel all eyes in the room instinctively turn towards him. "I understand your concern, Luke, but I do not share your assessment. Fear may lead to anger, and anger to hate, and hate to the Dark Side. But emotional connection does not only generate fear. For me, the emotion it provides to me is courage, and courage leads to compassion, and compassion leads to love. My emotional connection to my family does not fill me with fear, it fills me with courage. The courage to do things I never thought I could do, the courage to stand up in situations where everyone else stays seated. And most importantly, courage to put my life on the line to protect even the most unappreciated forms of life in our galaxy. These are the values and virtues espoused by the Light Side, and I could never imagine them being stronger than they are now because of my family."

Everyone at the table sat in quiet introspection as they thought about the Raff's comment. That is, everyone except Noraleek and Hendrik, who seemed to have lost interest in the conversation and had instead decided it was time to eat. Watching the children squabble over their favorite snacks brought small chuckles to several of the adults around the table, providing a small amount of release to the existing tension in the room. Luke, however, appeared lost in thought.

"I know this situation is not ideal, Master Jedi," Salyndra commented. "But Raff is ready and able to join you. The Force has returned to him and there must be a reason. You once found him worthy and ready to be trained in the ways of the Force. Has that changed?"

Luke thought for a minute. "No," he responded, "it is clear that the Force is still with him, but…"

Before he could complete his comment, Salyndra pounced again. "Do you honestly feel you can defeat Snoke and Kylo Ren alone?"

"No, and I don't think…," Luke began to respond.

"So you need Raff's help?" Salynda continued.

"I, we, do need help, but that doesn't…"

"Then he needs to go with you! He is a Jedi!"

Luke was clearly getting unnerved by the conversation and the constant interruptions. "Yes, yes, he was a Jedi, but…"

"He IS a Jedi!"

Luke jumped to his feet. "I will not stay here and be instructed in the ways of the Force by an outsider! Raff, Salyndra, I have the utmost respect for what you have done here and for your family, but you will not change my mind on this. I _must_ keep the traditions of the ancient Jedi order!"

Salyndra started to respond again, but Raff quickly grabbed her arm to signal that the discussion was over for now. Luke turned and left the room, clearly unsettled by the conversation that had occurred. Rey rose to her feet as well, thanked Salyndra again for welcoming them to her home, and followed Luke out.

* * *

Rey quickly caught up with Luke as he began walking back towards their ship. It was clear he was not in the mood to continue the discussion from Raff's home, but Rey couldn't shake the feeling that the current outcome was not right. After gathering her strength, she asked, "Master, surely the Force did not send us all the way out here just for that conversation, just to tell Raff he was no longer a Jedi?"

"I don't know why the Force wanted us here, Rey. But I will not be responsible for changing the Jedi Code. I am all that's left! I failed once already; I cannot fail again!"

"Master, you're here!", Rey responded soothingly, almost pleadingly. "I'm here! You haven't failed! Raff is a strong allay. Even if you decided he can't re-enter the Jedi Order, it would be foolish of us to turn him away. He wants to fight with us, and we need the help!"

As Luke looked up, he noticed his lightsaber rising in the air before him. Confused, he reached for the lightsaber only to have it swerve from his grasp. As he looked around, he notice a young man with his arm outstretched towards his lightsaber. The young man looked Luke in the eyes and said, "I believe in your rush to leave our home, you forgot this, Master Jedi."

"You must be Slaytrek," Rey commented.

The young man nodded, after which the remainder of Raff's children joined their older brother. He continued, "We're all Force users, Master Jedi. We still only have limited capabilities, nothing more than small skills such as levitation that we have learn through experimentation. For years our father has felt guilty, knowing we were force sensitive but not being able to train us because he couldn't remember how to use the Force."

Slaytrek bowed his head slightly, clearly experiencing remorse at the struggle his father faced. As he looked up, it was clear there were several tears streaming from his eyes. "Please don't leave our Father behind! I don't want him to go, but I can't be the reason he must stay. He was once a Jedi Knight, Master Luke. Please let him serve again!"

* * *

Raff feel quickly to the ground behind a tree in an attempt to catch his breath. Sweat begin to gather on his forehead as he scanned his surrounding trying to locate his attackers. Recognizing he was still very much out of shape and hadn't fully regained all of his potency with the Force, he was obligated to still rely significantly upon his own natural instincts. He perched his head to the side, struggling to pick up any sound or scent that might point him in the right direction. He also had neither seen nor heard from Rey in over 5 minutes. Mustering his courage, he arose from the ground, let out a gut-wrenching roar, and charged into the open field near the tree.

"You'll never take me alive, you fiends!" he roared. "I am a Jedi, and I do not fear your powers!"

Raff circled around, expecting to be ambushed any minute. He began to tense up, knowing his words were unlikely to deter his foes. His arms, though raised in the air as he had charged into the field, slowly began to lower back to his side. The scowl on his face changed to a look of slight confusion. "This is not going to end well," he thought. Just as Raff began to relax, the attack was sprung. Arms and legs appeared from every direction, and voices raised in response to Raff's challenge.

"GET HIM!"

Raff found himself falling to the ground as Noraleek flew through the air, straight at her father's chest. No sooner had she arrived than Sarryya, Freydren, and Hendrik also popped up from field and charged at their father. Rey, clearly the one who had launched Noraleek at her father, emerged with Slaytrek from behind a nearby tree. Salyndra looked on from their home, with a large smile spreading across her face. Luke, hearing the commotion, joined Salyndra to enjoy the show.

"Down with the Sith!" Hendrik yelled.

"I've got his arm!" Freyden replied.

Sarryya wrapped herself around Raff's legs and claimed, "You're not going anywhere Sith Warrior!"

Noraleek simply began to bounce on her father's chest, laughing as Raff let out pathetic pleas to release him. "No, no, I'm no Sith! I'm here to help!", Raff implored. The children, however, where having none of it. "You're an evil servant of the Dark Side! We will not believe your lies!", Sarryya responded.

Luke couldn't help but laugh as the scene played out before them. "He's a very good father, isn't he?"

Salyndra was caught a little off guard by the comments, but responded back with in a calm tone, "Yes, he has a big heart. Children are incredible judges of character and seem to have a very intuitive sense that just naturally pull them towards him. He's a bit of a pushover with most of the other children in the town as well. I'm still not sure where this natural playfulness even comes from, as most Mirianlans are fairly stoic. But I'm not complaining."

Luke couldn't help but smile. His Uncle Owen was never much of the playful type. A lifetime on Tatooine made most people hard, a trait that was virtually required if they lived anywhere close to space ports and interface with smugglers and bounty hunters. He had often wondered what life would have been like if his father had not turned into Vader. If his mother had survived. If he and Leia had been raised together. How would Anakien have handled this situation? Clearly this situation differed in how it came about, but the result would have been very much the same. A Jedi Knight with a wife and two children. Two children who were also force-sensitive. Would Anakien have been expelled from the Jedi Order? Would the children have been sent to the Jedi Academy for training? Would Anakien have just trained them?

"You seem troubled, Master Jedi," Salyndra commented, noticing the flood of emotions that were crossing Luke's face.

Luke looked up at Salyndra for a moment, before returning his eyes to the field where he family was playing. "This is not a completely unique situation. My father married my mother while he was still a Jedi, as I am sure you are aware. I read accounts of multiple siblings showing strong aptitudes for the Force, resulting in more than one of them being admitted to the Jedi Academy. While it was rare that they were admitted at the same time, there were nonetheless obvious attachments reestablished at their reunion. I, myself, have clear attachments to my sister, my family, and many friends. If being truthful, I cannot deny that these attachment have clouded my judgement, and even guided my actions, at times. Such experiences make it difficult for me to feel I can be impartial and non-hypocritical in my assessment of this situation."

Salyndra could feel the emotional battle that was waging inside Luke. During her last exchange with the Jedi Master, she could barely control the barrage of retorts and responses that can flying from her. But as she thought on the word she had just heard, she knew that Luke needed was not direction or guidance, but support.

"I cannot image this is an easy time for you, Master Jedi," she spoke after several minutes. "I do ask that you pardon the abruptness of my earlier comments. I meant no disrespect to you or your situation. Clearly I have very passionate and personal feelings on this matter."

Luke let out a light chuckle at this statement. Seeing the smile on Salyndra's face, he quickly added, "Yes, I did catch onto that. Admittedly, I too could have handled that situation better."

"We do the best we can in the situations we are given," Salyndra responded. "The only true failure is failing to acknowledge our errors. Every error is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to become more than what we currently are."

Salyndra looked out over the field and watched the children as they continued to wrestle with Raff, though now even Rey was coming under attack. Slaytrek now seemed to have taken on the commander role, attempting to organize the chaos and provide direction to the children in their assaults against the two Jedi. At one point, Salyndra could see Noraleek and Hendrik raised above the ground and being gently rocked in the air as they let out playful squeals and giggles, yet still letting out vain threats against Raff and Rey.

"Rey seems quite a home with the children."

"Yes," Luke responded. "She has been without her family for some time."

"Then it would appear that this is a problem you would have had to face regardless of our situation," Salyndra said. "Perhaps the Force was trying to prepare you."

"That's a very good point."

"You will succeed, Master Jedi. The greatest leaders we read about in history were typically not undefeated, but rather were those who rose up after defeat because they knew the battle must be won. You were defeated in that battle many years ago, but the battle is still to be won."

Raff came trotting up to Salyndra and Luke, sweat pouring down his face and his breathing quite labored. "Now that I have the Force again, there are a lot more expectations of fun play time," Raff commented, with a big grin on his face.

"You may find going with Master Skywalker to be almost a vacation," Salyndra commented.

Raff and Luke both let out a small laugh. "Any chance I could get some water?" Raff asked.

"You're a Jedi again now," Salyndra responded with a grin. "Use the Force."

Raff began to wave his hand in front of Salyndra and utter, "You want to get me …."

"Did you just try and use a Jedi mind trick on me!?" Salyndra let out sharply.

Raff quickly started to shake his head no, looking to Luke for an excuse. Luke quickly, and smartly, took a step back.

"I am not a weak minded fool, like some First Order stooge!" Salyndra reached up and grabbed Raff by the collar, pulling him close to her, and looked him straight in the eyes. "If you ever try and do that again," she continued, "even the Force won't be able to save you from the butt kicking I'll give you."

Salyndra slowly released her grip on Raff, then turned and walked purposefully back into the house. Rafa looked back at Luke, who was trying hard to hold back the grin and laughter welling up inside him.

"I blame you!" Raff blurted out. "Where was the 'How to Properly use the Force Around Your Wife' course when I was at the academy?"

Luke could no longer hold back the laughter. "Sorry Raff," he responded. "That's just common sense!"


End file.
